FABIO PISCAGLIA
Full Professor of Internal Medicine
Working place: University of Bologna, with clinical activities at IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna via Albertoni 15, Bologna
Tel: (office) + 39 051 636 2542 / 68
E-mail: fabio.piscaglia@unibo.it [mailto:fabio.piscaglia@unibo.it]
MOST RELEVANT ACADEMIC AND CLINICAL POSITIONS
Director of Division of Internal Medicine from 31.12.2018 at IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Policlinico di S.Orsola, via Albertoni 15, Bologna
30.07.2011-31.12.2018 High professional position for the “Clinical and experimental integrated management of liver tumors” at Policlinico di S.Orsola, Bologna.
2003-current. Coordinator of the multidisciplinary tumor board dedicated to liver tumors at the Policlinico di S.Orsola, Bologna.
2.3.2017-current. Coordinator of the PhD Program of the University of Bologna in “General and Service Medical Sciences” (part of the Governing Board of the PhD Program since 2006).
Secretary of the School of Specialization in Internal Medicine, University of Bologna in the term 2017-2018.
As a clinician he also developed personals skills in the field of ultrasonography, including ultrasound guided interventions.
SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES
2013-current. Associate Editor of Ultraschall in der Medizin / European Journal of Ultrasound (IF = 6.54 ref year 2020, ranking first among multidisciplinary ultrasound journals).
2016-2020. Associate Editor of Digestive and Liver Disease (IF = 4.08 ref year 2020).
Member of the Editorial Board of Liver Cancer (IF 2020 = 11.74) and Journal of Ultrasound.
Publication records: publications in PubMed 334. Total Impact Factor >1800. H-index 56 according to ISI, 61 according to Scopus and 83 according to Google Scholar (according to the latter H-index of the last 5 years = 61). According to all classification methods the ratio of H-index / age in year stays above 1, threshold reached by extremely few scientists worldwide).
2006-current. Member of several national and international scientific committes. Member of the panel of experts which wrote the European Guidelines for the clinical use of Contrast enhanced ultrasound in 2008 (Claudon M et al, Guidelines and good clinical practice recommendations for contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) - update 2008. Ultraschall Med. 2008;29:28-44) the update in 2013 (Ultraschall Med. 2013;34:11-29), both of which received hundreds of citations. He was appointed responsible for Update of non hepatic applications of CEUS in 2011, being first and corresponding author (Piscaglia F et al, The EFSUMB Guidelines and Recommendations on the Clinical Practice of Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS): Update 2011 on non-hepatic applications. Ultraschall Med, 2012: 33:33-59), which received more than half a thousand citations. He also promoted and coordinated the preparation of the first international guidelins on Ultrasound Elastography, published in two articles where Piscaglia is listed as second or last author (Ultraschall Med. 2013;34:238-53 e Ultraschall Med. 2013;34:169-84), also heavily cited articles.
He was appointed part of the restricted working groups preparing the guidelines for the clinical management of hepatocellular carcinoma at a national and internation level. At a National Italian level, he worked for the Associazione Italiana di Oncologia Medica (AIOM), guidelines released in 2012 and, as coordinator, for the multidisciplinary Italian guidelines released in 2016 (Società Italiane di Radiologia, Oncologia Medica, Chirurgia, Trapianti, Malattie del Fegato) (https://www.sirm.org/download/1923). E' also contributed as author to the guidelines of the European Association for the Study of the Liver published in 2018 and enormously cited (J Hepatol. 2018;69:182-236).
He won as Italian Principal Investigator a European Research grant in program FP7 for the term 2013-2017, projects Marie Curie http://www.unibo.it/en/research/projects-and-initiatives/Unibo-Projects-under-7th-Framework-Programme/people/clever (PIAP-GA-2013-612273)and for the term 2017-2021 a grant of the American National Institute of Health NIH (6 centers in USA, 1 Canada, 1 Uk, 1 Italy, 1 Switzerland) entitled: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound evaluation of focal liver lesions in patients with cirrhosis or other risk factors for developing HCC. Trials registered as NCT03318380
He served as elected member of the Governing Board of the Associazione Italiana per lo Studio delle Malattie del Fegato (www.webaisf.org ) for the term 2009-2011
He was elected President of EFSUMB, European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology for the term 2011-2013, a Federation counting approximately 20.000 members (www.efsumb.org).
In 2010 he was appointed Honorary Member of the Rumenian Society of Ultrasound in Medicine.
2011-2021 member of the Governing Board of the International Contrast Ultrasound Society (ICUS, www.icus-society.org) located in Chicago, USA.
He is member of the working group of the American College of Radiology ACR, which released the innovative recommendation for the characterization and reporting of focal liver lesions at risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in 2016 (https://www.acr.org/Quality-Safety/Resources/LIRADS)
In 2016 he was appointed the position of Visiting Professor for post-doctoral studies at the Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Cluj Napoca, Rumenia
He acted as peer reviewer overall for more than 200 articles, with services requested by more than 20 different journals with Impact Factor (Hepatology IF = 15, GUT = 18, Journal of Hepatology IF 19, Clinical Cancer Research IF = 7.3, American Journal of Gastroenterology IF = 10.1, Radiology, IF = 6.1, etc).
His research activities has addressed questions in the field of Primary Liver Cancer (focusing on both diagnostic and therapeutic intervations), Liver Transplantation, Abdominal Ultrasound with particular interest in innovative techniques (Doppler ultrasound contrast ultrasound and ultrasound elastography), Complications of Liver cirrhosis.
He has been Principal Investigator of several experimental trials, particularly in the field of pharmacological therapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (trials in phase I to IV).
1997-1998 one year research period at the University of Goettingen, Germany, in the Research Laboratories of the Dept of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Thomas Knittel, chairman Prof. Dr. Giuliano Ramadori. These activities were oriented to combine clinical with pre-clinical research in the field of fibrogenesis and portal hypertension in liver disease
From the year 2009 he was selected as reviewer for the Ministery of Education, University and Scientific Research for the selection of the applications to be funded in the FIRB Program “Future in research – 2009”.
In 2011 he was selected by the University Hospital King's College in London, UK, to serve as external international expert to judge on the promotion to full professor of Radiology of an english candidate. He also acted as peer reviewer for scientific grants at international level.
One of his PhD students, whom he is still tutoring, dr. Veronica Salvatore, made a successful application for the Program “Future in Research” in 2010 (funds received in late 2011) in the field of innovative assesments of response of xenograft primary liver tumors by new ultrasound techniques).
SCHOLAR ACHIEVEMENTS.
Fabio Piscaglia studied Medicine at the University of Bologna, Italy and graduated in 1992 receiving the prize for the best overall ranks of his academic year (34 of 34 exams passed with the highest marks, of which 29 also with honors).
Specialized in Internal Medicine in 1998. In 1997 he passed the complete USA Medical License Examination (USMLE) with a score higher than the average score of first attempters in the USA.
1998-2002. PhD Program in Ultrasound in Human and Veterinary Medicine (final thesis in february 2002)
He served in the Italian Army from May 1992 to May 1993, spending most of the time in the surgical unit of the Bologna military hospital
